Africa Top Success Ils font l'Afrique
The Togolese Head of State, Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé and the Chairman of Bolloré group, Vincent Bolloré inaugurated on Tuesday, 14th October 2014 in the presence of Heads of State from the sub-region, Presidents Boni Yayi from Benin and Mahamadou Issoufou from Niger, the third platform and the platform gantries of the container terminal of the Port Authority of Lomé.
The works, started in March 2011, ended in the building of a 3rd 450 meter platform with 15 m deep, bringing to 920 m the total length of the platforms available on Togo Terminal. A fully computerized terminal and henceforth equipped with 2 platform gantries inaugurated the same day, without counting 3 other planned gantries. This modern equipment is added to 6 movable cranes already operational on the terminal allowing the considerable increase of the rates and the simultaneous operation of at least four ships.
Togo Terminal is hence capable of receiving large vessels, which could transport at least 7000 20 feet containers. An increased productivity and competitiveness for Togo Terminal making of the port of Lomé, one of the most successful of West Africa. At the same time, Togo Terminal increases its containers storage capacity with a tripling of surfaces, with a provision of 38 hectares of central reservations in total in the next few weeks; an area that will be equipped with park gantries for an optimal operation of the central reservations. Full-term objective: operate up to 1, 2 million containers per year.
All in all, Bolloré group will have to invest more than 450 million euros in the port of Lomé on the concession duration. For the realization of the project, Togo Terminal set up a real policy of skills and trainings transfer that allowed strengthening the capacities of its collaborators. One half-thousand jobs were created since the beginning of the works.
Original text by: Roger ADZAFO
